The Philadelphia Phillies are weighing whether to make Alec Bohm a one-year, $23.15 million qualifying offer as he heads into free agency, a move that would keep the infielder tied to the club for another season if he accepted. Bohm, though, sounded unsure about what comes next after the Phillies were eliminated from the National League Wild Card Series by the Atlanta Braves.
“Absolutely, to be honest with you, I have no idea what to expect, but I would love to be back if they would have me back,” Bohm said after the loss. That is the line Philadelphia must now read against the math of the qualifying offer, which would protect the Phillies from losing him for nothing if another team signs him, while also placing a steep price tag on a player who made $10.2 million on the contract he agreed to sign on January 8 to avoid arbitration.
Todd Zolecki said he would consider the offer because he did not think Bohm would take it, though he acknowledged Bohm might. He framed it as a budget question too, noting that a one-year deal can be easier to live with than a long commitment when the cost is fixed. In that sense, the Phillies are not just deciding whether they like Bohm. They are deciding whether they can justify paying $23.15 million for one season of a player who is still set to hit free agency after 2026.
The case for Bohm is not hard to see. He opened 2026 hitting.159 through 35 games, then recovered to hit.304 over his final 62 games and finished with a.249/.315/.383 slash line and 0.2 fWAR. He also drove in 88 runs, batted.333 against the Braves and hit a go-ahead homer in Game 2. He was much better against left-handed pitchers, posting a.292/.333/.483 line, and he has a career.302/.351/.503 mark in that split.
The problem is that the full season still looks uneven. Bohm finished with minus 10 defensive runs saved and minus 8 outs above average at third base in 2026, and his career defensive ledger at the position stands at minus 16 fielding runs in 5,913 innings. He has not topped 20 home runs in any season, even though he owns a.273 career average with 85 home runs and 483 RBIs in seven seasons. That is why the qualifying offer debate has traction: his late surge makes a reunion plausible, but his overall line makes a long-term bet harder to sell.
The broader backdrop helps explain why the discussion is happening now. The Phillies fired Rob Thomson on April 28 after a 9-19 start, then finished 79-55 under Don Mattingly and ended the regular season 88-74 for a fifth straight playoff berth. Bohm’s season followed that same arc, rough early and steadier late, which is why he still looks like a fit on a short-term return. If Philadelphia does extend the qualifying offer, the next question is the one the club cannot control: whether Bohm takes it, or whether he tests a market where a team signing him without that attached offer would not have to surrender draft-pick compensation.
For now, the Phillies are staring at a familiar offseason choice: pay for certainty, or let Bohm go into a market that may value his finish more than his first month.
